Black History & Ancestry: Why So Many Caribbean Families Have Irish Names?

African and Irish histories became intertwined in the Caribbean, helping to shape communities, family histories and cultural traditions in ways that are not always recognised today.

This session explores an often-overlooked aspect of Caribbean history and considers why it remains largely absent from many discussions of Caribbean heritage and ancestry.
Rather than presenting a familiar narrative, this session highlights where common assumptions fall short—and what that means for how Caribbean history is understood.

By placing these histories into context, this session offers a clearer understanding of how Caribbean identities were formed—and why some aspects of that history are not immediately visible today.

This session forms part of a wider series on how Black ancestry can be traced and understood through historical records.